1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for producing image data representing a specimen being imaged using ultrasound.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ultrasound machines produce an image of a specimen, usually an area below a patient's skin, by using a probe including one or more acoustic transducers to send pulses of sound into the specimen. The pulses are reflected back from materials within the specimen and the received signals are used to generate an image that can be displayed to an operator and/or stored.
However, the pulses generated by the transducers have a focal depth outside which the images become increasingly blurred. Thus, it is difficult to accurately image a specimen that has a large depth.